Preparations have reached advanced stages for the maiden edition of African Children Talent Discovery Foundation (ACTDF)’s Unleash Your Talent 2017, an initiative that seeks to discover talents in singing, dancing and acting.

Preparations have reached advanced stages for the maiden edition of African Children Talent Discovery Foundation (ACTDF)’s Unleash Your Talent 2017, an initiative that seeks to discover talents in singing, dancing and acting.

Speaking at the star-studded inauguration held at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, President, ACTDF, Engr. Noah Dallaji, said that the first prize winners will win contracts worth N1 million each including cash and an all-expenses paid trip to New York for the United Nations Summit among others.

According to him: “This event is cued into this year’s United Nation’s General Assembly Summit, which has tagged this year the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. We shall hopefully be in the United States in September to depict the potentials in our youths and practically show how we could use it to drive the tourism sector in Nigeria through our various side events and general meetings.”

Dallaji said zonal auditions for the talent hunt will hold in Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Nasarawa, Ibadan/Ekiti, Bauchi and Kaduna from August 17 to 19 before the grand finale, which will take place on September 1 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“The zonal competitions will take place on August 17, 18 and 19, 2017. We expect at least three winners to emerge from the zones before slugging it out at the grand finale in Port Harcourt. At the grand finale in Port Harcourt, we look forward to hosting a most successful event that will give youths a chance to celebrate life and enjoy it to the fullest. When we see our efforts impact positively on the needy and watch them in turn use their God-given talents to influence the larger society positively, we become satisfied, as this is just the only way great nations evolve – investing in their human and material resources as depicted by the ACTDF logo: Talent Is Great Resource,” he stated.

Dallaji continued: “We have worked to empower the downtrodden and today we are graded UN Grade C status as it relates to NGOs. In 2012, we participated in the Rio 2012 UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit, which held in Brazil.

“I am particularly happy that our brand ambassadors like Jim Iyke, Abubakar Yakubu, Emeka Rollas, Thelma Ojiji, and others who are here with us this morning, were all part of that trip to the beautiful city of Rio for that UN gathering. I am happy to state that across the nation and beyond the shores of Africa, we have reached out touching lives in very astonishing ways and are being recognised for that.”